And although news of his departure was a surprise on Tuesday, it’s also a reflection of what has become a regular occurrence nationally. The 7-foot sophomore-to-be from Poland joined a list of roughly 300 players who are transferring to other schools.

“If you look at what’s going on around the country,” Bulldogs coach Ray Giacoletti said, “it’s out of control.”

Olejniczak appeared to be a key building block in Drake’s rebuilding process. He emerged as a starter late in his freshman season, averaging 10.3 points over his final nine games. Olejniczak made 72.2 percent of his shots (83 of 115) through 30 games overall.

His athleticism, including quick feet and the ability to run the floor, made Olejniczak one of the more promising big men in the Missouri Valley Conference.

As far as off-the-court circumstances, there are no known academic or other issues that would have forced Olejniczak to leave.

The mid-major programs have become more susceptible to players seeking opportunities at bigger schools.

This was Drake’s second transfer of the offseason.

Former West Des Moines Valley star Kale Abrahamson, who began his college career at Northwestern, averaged 11.1 points and 3.9 rebounds with the Bulldogs, but was relegated to a reserve role by the end of February. He departed soon after the season's conclusion.

Olejniczak’s role was increasing. He was a prospect with a realistic chance of playing professionally at some point, the type of recruit who would typically ended up at a more high-profile program.

Giacoletti and his staff discovered him, but keeping him became a problem.

Now that he’s gone, where does Drake go from here?

“We’re not just one man,” Giacoletti said. “Is it a disappointment? Yes.

“But we bring back probably as much experience as we’ve had here in a while.”

Olejniczak gave the Bulldogs a promising post player to go along with guards Reed Timmer, Ore Arogundade and C.J. Rivers.

His departure leaves Drake with three scholarships for the spring signing period.

The Bulldogs have some depth in the post with 7-foot senior-to-be Jacob Enevold Jensen (who was replaced in the starting lineup by Olejniczak), 6-11 Kory Kuenstling and 6-10 Casey Schlatter.

Olejniczak, however, had a greater upside than any other Drake big man in some time.